Regional trails system

From the quiet beauty of Troutdale’s earthen Beaver Creek Trail to the hustle and bustle of Portland’s Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade, regional trails are like us – they come in all shapes and sizes.

Trails are designed to serve a variety of functions. Some, like the I-205 Trail, are well suited for bike commuters seeking a fast route. Others, like the Wildwood Trail, offer recreational hikers the opportunity to wind their way through lush forests. The Sandy River Water Trail allows visitors to experience scenic basalt canyons and rare old growth forest from a raft or kayak, while the Tualatin River Greenway provides opportunities to stroll beneath circling red-tailed hawks or float past great blue herons standing regally along the riverbank.

40-Mile Loop

After a visit to Portland in 1903, pioneer landscape architect John Charles Olmsted proposed a comprehensive system of parks and natural areas connected by parkways and boulevards. Terwilliger, Sellwood and North Willamette boulevards are each part of that original plan. Olmsted’s idea was revived in 1982 and named the 40-Mile Loop, honoring the original concept’s proposed length. Since then, trail planners and advocates have updated the plan to meet the needs of a much larger metropolitan area and population.

Plans for the 40-Mile Loop now include all of Multnomah County. When it is completed, it will connect more than 30 parks along the Columbia, Sandy and Willamette rivers, Johnson Creek, and the Tualatin Mountains in a continuous 140-mile loop. The section from the Sandy River to the Springwater Trail is the last major gap in the 40-Mile Loop.

The growth of commuting by bike or walking and the popularity of outdoor recreation activities such as walking, running, bicycling, skateboarding, paddling and wildlife observation has increased the need for quality regional trails. Park and recreation providers, local cities and citizens have teamed up in an ambitious effort to establish a network of trails linking parks and natural areas to local communities and other area attractions.

When originally conceived over 100 years ago by noted landscape architect John Charles Olmsted, Portland’s trail system was envisioned to be 40 miles long, circling the city and linking public parks. The Portland metropolitan area has grown a lot since then. Today, Metro envisions a system of trails spanning the 24-city, three-county region and beyond. Plans call for a 1,000-mile network of regional trails. As of 2014, about 35 percent of those trails are complete.

What makes a trail regional?

Regional trails differ from local trails in that they are usually larger in scope – crossing neighborhood lines and linking cities, counties and even states. As excellent places for hikers, walkers, runners, cyclists, and paddlers to exercise and experience nature, regional trails are destinations unto themselves – but they also take us from the places we live to the places we learn, work, shop and play.

Regional trails are typically separated from roads. Their off-street nature make trails more pleasant for recreational users by reducing interactions with car traffic, which also make them quicker routes for pedestrian and bike commuters.

Existing trails are complete or near completion and open to the public (as of November 2017). They connect neighborhoods, schools, parks and jobs; provide access to nature; and present opportunities to hike, bike, walk, run and roll.

Banks-Vernonia Trail
21 miles
Pedestrians, bikes, horses
This multi-use trail built on a former railroad line crosses farms and forestland to connect Banks to Vernonia. Pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians are allowed. Oregon State Parks manages the trail.

Beaver Creek Trail
2 miles; 5 additional miles planned
Pedestrian, 40-mile Loop
Located on the east side of Troutdale in a wooded canyon, this trail is geared for hikers. A multi-use extension of the trail will eventually connect the Sandy River in Troutdale to the Springwater Trail in Gresham, completing the last major gap in the 40-mile loop.

Rail-trails

Rail-trails are multi-use paths that follow railroad corridors. They tend to be relatively flat and straight, and can range from urban to rural settings. Rails-to-trails, built on former rail corridors, differ from rails-with-trails, which are built next to active rail lines. Examples of both can be found throughout the Metro area. Notable rails-to-trails include the Trolley Trail, Springwater Trail and Banks-Vernonia Trail. The Springwater-on-the-Willamette Trail is a classic example of a rail-with-trail. More information on rail-trails can be found at www.railstotrails.org.

Cazadero Trail
10 miles; 5 additional miles planned
Pedestrians, bikes, horses
Cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians can experience the beauty of North Fork Deep Creek Canyon along this rail-to-trail that will one day connect the communities of Boring, Barton and Estacada. Oregon State Parks manages the trail.

Clackamas River Greenway
2 miles; 7 additional miles planned
Pedestrians, bikes
People can experience this trail at a number of spots including Clackamas Cove in Oregon City, Cross Park in Gladstone, and the Old 82nd Avenue pedestrian bridge that connects the two cities.

Columbia Slough Trail
15 miles; 11 additional miles planned
Pedestrians, bikes, 40-mile Loop
From Kelley Point Park at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, this trail runs east along the Columbia Slough to Gresham, passing several natural areas along the way. West of I-205 the trail is paved and open to bicyclists. East of I-205 the trail is made of wood chips and limits users to travel on foot. Portland Parks & Recreation manages the trail.

Water trails

Water trails are waterway segments designated for non-motorized travel. They offer opportunities to experience the region’s rivers and natural areas from an on-the-water perspective. Water trail development provides access points to launch and land canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, row boats and other non-motorized watercraft. To find out more about the status of these efforts, visit the websites below:

Crown Zellerbach Trail
22 miles
Pedestrians, mountain bikes, horses
A former rail line and logging road, the Crown Zellerbach was converted to a multi-use trail connecting Scappoose to Vernonia in Columbia County.

Emerald Necklace Trail
6 miles; 5 additional miles planned
Pedestrians, bikes
Forest Grove’s vision for a greenway encircling the city well on its way to reality. The Old Town Loop Trail and the Highway 47 Trail offer joggers and bicyclists two completed sections of the Emerald Necklace.

Gresham-Fairview Trail
4 miles; 2 additional miles planned
Pedestrians, bikes
This rail-to-trail connects the Springwater Trail north to the Columbia Slough and Marine Drive Trails. The City of Gresham manages the trail.

Hagg Lake Trail
14 miles; 3 additional miles proposed
Pedestrians, mountain bikes
Originating at the north end of the Yamhelas Westsider Trail, the future Hagg Lake Trail would head west along Scoggins Creek to join the 14-mile system of hiking and mountain biking trails currently encircling the lake and managed by Washington County.

Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail
62 miles; 11 additional miles planned
Bikes
Once known as the King of Roads the Historic Highway is now considered by many to be the King of Trails. Sixty-two of the original 73 miles of the Historic Highway are now open to bicyclists. Once restored, the remaining 11 miles of trail segments will allow bicyclists to travel the majestic Columbia River Gorge from Troutdale to The Dalles without riding along I-84. Oregon State Parks manages the trail.

I-205 Trail
19 miles; 20 additional miles proposed
Pedestrians, bikes
This commuter trail runs parallel to the I-205 freeway, connecting the Columbia River at Vancouver to the Clackamas River at Gladstone. Owned and managed by the Oregon Department of Transportation, the multi-use path is proposed to continue south to West Linn and Tualatin.

Ice Age Tonquin Trail
5 miles; 17 additional miles planned
Pedestrians, bikes
The cities of Wilsonville, Sherwood and Tualatin are collaborating to develop this new trail that will interpret the dramatic geologic landscape left behind by the historic Missoula Floods. The Ice Age Tonquin Trail is in fact a system of trails that includes Sherwood’s Cedar Creek Trail and Tualatin’s Hedges Creek Trail. Walkers, joggers and bicyclists can experience the trail at Graham Oaks Nature Park, Stella Olsen Park and Tualatin Community Park.

Peninsula Crossing Trail
4 miles
Pedestrians, bikes
Adjacent to the railroad, this multi-use path crosses the North Portland peninsula between the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. Portland Parks & Recreation manages the trail.

Rock Creek Trail
8 miles; 5 additional miles planned
Pedestrians, bikes
The Rock Creek Trail follows a scenic greenway from Bethany to Hillsboro and will connect to the Tualatin River Greenway in Rood Bridge Park when completed. The City of Hillsboro and Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation manage the trail.

Rosemont Trail
5 miles
Pedestrians, bikes
Bicyclists and pedestrians can use this paved east-west trail connecting Luscher Farm in Lake Oswego to West Linn. The City of Lake Oswego manages the western portion of the trail.

Sandy River Greenway and Trail
2 miles; 6 miles proposed
Pedestrians, bikes, 40-mile Loop
Nature lovers can experience the Sandy River Greenway at several public parks, including Dodge Park, Oxbow Regional Park and Dabney State Park. A paved multi-use path spans the river next to I-84 and connects Lewis and Clark State Park to downtown Troutdale and Chinook Landing Nature Park.

Springwater Trail
21 miles; an additional half mile planned
Pedestrians, bikes, 40-mile Loop
The Springwater Trail is a former railroad line that connects Portland, Gresham and Boring. It also connects to the Cazadero Trail in the east and the Willamette River Greenway in the west. Most of the trail parallels Johnson Creek and connects several significant parks, natural areas and wildlife refuges, including Oaks Bottom, Beggars Tick, Powell Butte and Gresham’s Main City Park. The cities of Portland and Gresham and Clackamas County manage the trail.

Sunrise Corridor Trail
2 miles; 2 additional miles planned
Pedestrians, bikes
Adjacent to the Sunrise Corridor Highway, this commuter-oriented path runs from the I-205 Trail east to 152nd Drive in Happy Valley. Plans are in place to extend the highway and path further east. The Oregon Department of Transportation manages the path.

Tickle Creek Trail
6 miles; 12 additional miles planned
Pedestrians, bikes
Adjacent to Tickle Creek in Sandy, this gravel, multi-use trail will connect to the Cazadero Trail in Barton when completed. The City of Sandy manages the trail.

Trolley Trail
7 miles
Pedestrians, bikes
This multi-use path follows a former streetcar corridor from Milwaukie to Gladstone, and connects to the major Orange Line transit station at Park Avenue.

Tualatin River Greenway Trail
6 miles; 19 additional miles planned
Pedestrians, bikes
Walkers, joggers and bicyclists can experience the Tualatin River from the multi-use path as it passes through Cook Park, Tualatin Community Park and Browns Ferry Park in Tigard and Tualatin. Planned extensions will one day connect the trail to King City and the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge in the west, and to Lake Oswego and West Linn in the east.

Westside Trail
12 miles; 12 additional miles planned
Pedestrians, bikes
The Westside Trail connects the Willamette River and Forest Park in northwest Portland to the Tualatin River. It runs through Beaverton, Tigard and King City, and largely follows a power transmission corridor. Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation manages the trail.

Wildwood Trail
30 miles
Pedestrians, 40-mile Loop
The region’s longest completed trail, the Wildwood lets hikers wind through Forest Park and other parks in west Portland, including Washington Park, Hoyt Arboretum and the Oregon Zoo. Mountain bikes are not allowed on the Wildwood Trail but are allowed on several miles of dirt roads in Forest Park, including Leif Erikson Drive. Portland Parks & Recreation manages the trail.

Willamette Greenway Trail
24 miles open; 57 additional miles proposed
Pedestrians, bikes
Actually a series of several multi-use paths, the Willamette Greenway Trail follows the east and west banks of the Willamette River from Champoeg State Park to the river’s confluence with the Columbia in North Portland. Major built segments include trails at West Linn’s Willamette Park and Mary S. Young State Park, Lake Oswego’s George Rogers Park and Foothills Park, and Portland’s Willamette Park, Tom McCall Waterfront Park and Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade. Portland has plans to complete the North Portland Willamette Greenway Trail, and upriver in Oregon City, the planned Willamette Falls Riverwalk will provide visitors an up-close experience of North America’s largest waterfall by volume. Someday a world-class trail will follow the Willamette Shore Trolley line from Lake Oswego to John’s Landing. The Willamette Greenway Trail is recognized as a trail of statewide significance.

Trail design

Trails data

Local governments and community advocates have proposed a number of trails for future development. On the Regional Trails System Plan Map, these yet-to-be-built trails fall into two categories – planned or conceptual – according to the degree to which local cities have planned them and the community has vetted them.

Planned trails

Planning a trail is a significant effort involving local residents, trail advocacy groups, elected officials, and teams of professional planners, engineers, and landscape architects. A trail master plan, developed through a comprehensive process with many opportunities for public involvement, is the blueprint for where, when and how to build the trail. Planned trails have precise alignments and are ready to be designed, permitted and built as funding is secured.

Conceptual trails

Drawing lines on a map at a regional scale is an important first step toward the eventual development of a new trail. At the local scale these lines can show little regard for on-the-ground challenges such as streams, steep hills and property ownership, yet they are effective in communicating the general concept of a proposed trail. These conceptual trail routes are refined over time to reflect more feasible solutions.

Beaver Lake Trail
4 miles proposed
The Beaver Lake Trail would extend east from the Oregon City Loop Trail and would connect to Beaver Lake.

Beaverton Creek Trail
2 miles open; 5 additional miles proposed
From the confluence of Beaverton and Rock creeks in Hillsboro, this trail will one day connect to downtown Beaverton and the Fanno Creek Trail. The trail traverses Tualatin Hills Nature Park.

Bridgeport to Milwaukie Trail
7 miles proposed
This trail would follow a railroad corridor to connect the Bridgeport area of Tualatin and Tigard to Lake Oswego and connect across the Willamette River to Oak Grove and Milwaukie.

Bronson Creek Trail
3 miles proposed
Bronson Creek is an important tributary of Rock Creek and the Tualatin River. The Bronson Creek Trail would pass next to a number of large wetlands and natural areas.

Butler Buttes Trail
6 miles proposed
The Butler Buttes Trail would connect the Springwater Trail in Gresham to Damascus, traversing Gabbert, Towle, Bliss and Damascus buttes along the way.

Council Creek Trail
6 miles planned
The cities of Forest Grove, Cornelius and Hillsboro recently developed a plan to link their communities with a multi-use path following an inactive railroad line.

Crescent Park Trail
11 miles proposed
Hillsboro envisions a trail loop encircling the city. Following McKay Creek, Waible Creek and the Tualatin River, the Crescent Park Trail would draw trail users from all over Hillsboro and beyond.

East Buttes Powerline Trail
7 miles planned
As part of the Pleasant Valley Concept Plan, this trail would follow a power transmission corridor to connect the Springwater Trail to Happy Valley and the Clackamas River.

Helvetia Trail
17 miles proposed
The Helvetia Trail would follow a railroad corridor from Banks, across the Tualatin Mountains to the Willamette River, passing through North Plains and Helvetia along the way.

Hillsboro to Banks Trail
9 miles proposed
This trail would follow a railroad corridor through bucolic farmland from Hillsboro to Banks.

Historic Barlow Road Trail
20 miles open; 34 miles proposed
Mountain biking is an ideal way to trace the Mount Hood to Sandy segment of this pioneer wagon train route. Over the past 150-plus years, the segments of road between Sandy to Oregon City have been reclaimed by the landscape and have come under private ownership, meaning it probably won’t be reopened to trail users anytime soon.

North Clackamas Greenway Trail
5 miles proposed
The North Clackamas Greenway would parallel Railroad Avenue in Milwaukie, linking the Springwater Trail in Sellwood to Clackamas Town Center and the I-205 Trail.

Oregon City Loop Trail
2 miles open; 12 additional miles proposed
A multi-use trail loop around Oregon City will one day connect to the Trolley Trail, the future Newell Creek Trail, Canemah Bluff Natural Area and the Willamette Greenway. The loop includes the WPA-era McLoughlin Promenade, the iconic Oregon City Municipal Elevator and a planned river walk trail above Willamette Falls.

Oregon Electric Railway Trail
3 miles open; 5 additional miles proposed
This north-south commuter path parallels Cornelius Pass Road along a former streetcar line in Hillsboro. The state-owned rail corridor continues north to Helvetia, providing an opportunity for a scenic rural extension of the trail.

Pacific Greenway Trail
50 miles proposed
The Pacific Greenway Trail would connect the greater Portland area to the coast via Metro’s Burlington Creek and Ennis Creek Natural Areas, and logging roads in Columbia and Clatsop Counties.

Red Electric Trail
2 miles open; 5 additional miles planned
Many segments of this trail will follow quiet neighborhood streets, tracing a former inter-urban railroad line through southwest Portland, from Willamette Park to Garden Home.

Reedville Trail
1 mile open; 12 additional miles planned or proposed
This proposed north-south trail in Washington County would follow a power transmission corridor connecting Hillsboro to Sherwood. Short sections of this trail are built in Reedville.

Richardson Creek Trail
5 miles proposed
This proposed trail would connect Damascus to the Clackamas River Greenway.

River Terrace Trail
4 miles proposed
The River Terrace Trail will skirt the western edge of Tigard, eventually connecting the future South Cooper Mountain Trail to King City and the Tualatin River.

Scouters Mountain Trail
10 miles planned
From the Springwater Trail in Portland, this planned trail will travel past Scouters Mountain Nature Park in Happy Valley before continuing south along Rock Creek to its confluence with the Clackamas River.

South Cooper Mountain Trail
4 miles proposed
This east-west trail in Washington County would connect the Westside Trail to the proposed Reedville Trail.

Sullivan’s Gulch Trail
6 miles planned
This multi-use path will run along the north side of I-84 from the Willamette River Greenway to the Gateway Transit Center and the I-205 Trail.

Salmonberry Trail
84 miles planned
Using an 84-mile scenic rail corridor through the Coast Range, this trail will one day link Portland’s western suburbs to the Oregon Coast.

Stafford to Canby Trail
5 miles proposed
The Stafford to Canby Trail would connect Clackamas County’s Stafford Hamlet to the Canby Ferry and across the Willamette River to Canby.

Tualatin Valley Trail
12 miles proposed
Following Tualatin Valley Highway and the railroad corridor on the south side of the road, this multi-use path would connect Beaverton to Hillsboro.

Yamhelas Westsider Trail
16 miles proposed
This multi-use trail will follow a former railroad line on the east side of Highway 47, stretching from Scoggins Creek just north of Gaston through Yamhill and Carlton to Highway 99W near McMinnville.

Regional trail projects can take years to grow from concept to reality. They are often quite complex, involving many land owners and the help of hundreds – or thousands – of citizens. Determining a workable alignment, securing the trail right-of-way and finding the resources for trail design and construction all take time, energy and money.

Regional trails are typically built in phases as funding becomes available and trail corridors are secured. Some projects have received big boosts from special dedicated funding sources – such as Metro’s two natural areas bond measures, passed by voters in 1995 and 2006. Other projects are built one section at a time, a new stretch of asphalt added year after year after year.

Federal gas tax and state lottery revenues have been instrumental in planning and building the regional trails system. Over the past 20 years a number of regional trail projects have been funded through Metro’s Regional Flexible Funding program, which disburses federal transportation money in the Portland metropolitan region.

In addition to paying for trail construction projects, Metro supported the acquisition of a number of trail easements and water trail access points. Local cities and park districts have also used local funds to acquire, plan for and build new trail segments throughout the region.

For each project, different strategies are used. Pieces of trails are built, gaps are filled, key acquisitions are made and local landowners agree to participate. Each step moves us along the path to our goal of a regional trail network linking our communities to nature and to each other.

Whether your roots in the region run generations deep or you moved to Oregon last week, you have your own reasons for loving this place – and Metro wants to keep it that way. Help shape the future of the greater Portland region and discover tools, services and places that make life better today.